Overseaming sewing-machine.



No. 680,0I3. Patented Aug. 6, HM. C. J. APPLETON.

OVERSEAMING SEWING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 10, 1900.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Mbdel.)

Q INVENTOR U/L L IZM Q WITNESSES ATTORNEY HOTO-LITNQ. wAsHm Patented Aug. 6, l90l.

No. 680,0l3.

C. J. APPLETON.

UVERSEAMING SEWING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 10, 1900. (No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 2.

No. 680,0!3. Patented Aug. 6, Mil. C. J. APPLETON.

OVERSEAMING SEWING MACHINE.

(Application mm my 10, wow (No Model.) 3 Sheets- Sheet 3.

? Will/[Ill] lNVENTOR ATTORNEY m: "cams PETERS co. mam-umo" WASHINGTON, u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

CHARLES J. APPLETON, OF RAVENSWOOD, NEW YORK.

OVERSEAMING SEWING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 680,013, dated August 6, 1901. Application filed July 10, 1900- Serial No. 23,112. (No model.)

To 00% whom it may cancer-7:.

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. APPLETON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ravenswood, in the county of Queens, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Overseaming Sewing'-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to overseaming sewing-machines, and more particularly to that type of such machines designed to form an overedge seam particularly adapted for sewing knitted fabrics, although it is evident it may be employed for sewing fabrics of any character,

The objects of my present invention are to provide mechanism whereby an even and uniform overedge seam may be rapidly produced by three separate and interlooped threads, the parts being further so constructed and arranged that the noise usually incident to the movement of numerous parts is greatly diminished.

With these general objectsin view my invention consists of the parts and combinations as will be hereinafter more fully described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a sewing-machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same on the line as 0a, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a crosssection of the same on the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. t is a cross-section of the same on the line z z of said figure, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail elevation of a portion of the head and connected parts.

The bed-frame A is preferably formed as an inclosing casing for the moving parts to be described and has on its upper surface the usual work-plate A, which may constitute a continuation of the upper surface of the casing. Rising from the bed-frame A is the upright A carrying at its upper end the arm A in which is suitably journaled in any usual form of bearings a a the main drivingshaft A, which at its outer end is provided with the usual band-pulley A and hand Wheel A Suitably. journaled in the bedframe Ain any usual or desired form of bearings b b is the shaft B, which is driven from other end of which engages'a crank-pin 0 secured to the eccentric fast on the main driving-shaft, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The said needle-bar carries the usual needle 0 and thread-guide c Secured to the shaft B in any approved manner are the face-cams D and E, each of which is provided with a cam-grooved and 9,

respectively, of desired or required contour' to impart to the lower and circular needles to be described the necessary motions. Mounted to oscillate on the stud D is the lower-needle bar F, carrying at its upper free end the needle f, provided, preferably, with a threadeye f. Secured to the lower-needle bar F is a projecting arm F, preferably provided at its end with a rounded portiorif adapted to be seated in a block (1 which travels in the cam-groove of the cam D. The form of the said cam-groove is such that the lower-needle bar F is oscillated on its stud D as the cam D revolves to cause the needle f to reciprocate forward and backward below the work-plate past the line of travel of the vertical needle 0 Mounted to oscillate on the stud E, secured to the bed-frame A, is what I term the circular-needle bar G, carrying at its free end the circular needle 9, preferably, though not necessarily, curved slightly and provided with a thread-carrying eye g near its end.

Projecting from the circular-needle bar, prefgroove 6 is such and the parts are so disposed that the circular needle 9 is caused to reciprocate in a path above and below the workmore fully appear. a Thread is supplied to the vertical needle from the spool H, being passed from said' spool through the guide-eye it, around any usualform of tension h, through the guideeye it and guide-slot c in the needle-bar, over the pins 71, h and through guide-eye 7L6 to the eye of the vertical needle. Between the pins 71 71 the thread is looped under the end h 'of a slack take-up h, preferably shown as a coiled spring, one end of which is secured to the machine-head at 71 as will clearly appear from Fig. 2. 7

Each of the needles fand g are also supplied with a separate thread, the same being led to each of said needles from any convenient or suitable source of supply, (not necessary to illustrate,) and from such supply the threads each pass through any usual or preferred formof take-upsuch, for instance,

as shown for the thread leading to needle fin Fig. 2wherein Z is a lug. fixed to the bedframe and having a thread-eye in its end, and i is a lever pivoted at 2' and having at its free end a thread-eye In order to take up the slack thread, as during the reciprocation-of the needlef, I secure to the shaft B an eccentric '5 and connect the lever 2' thereto by an eccentric-strap i whereby as the shaft rotates the lever t" is moved to and from the scends.

fixed lug 'i. 'A similar take-up is shown in Fig. 1 for the thread leading to the needle g,

wherein al is the fixed lug provided with an eye, as above described. i is the lever having an eye in its end, said lever being moved to and from the fixed lug 11 by the eccentric 1' and strap 11 in the same manner as described for the similar take-up shown in Fig. 2.

From the construction thus far shown it will be noted that the vertical needle 0 is reciprocated as usual, that the lower needle f, carried by the lower-needle bar F, is reciprocated across or close to the path traversed by the vertical needle 0 said lower needle, however, always remaining below the work-plate of the machine, and that the circular needle 9 is by its connection with the cam E reciprocated across or close to the path of the lower needle f below the work-plate and also across or close to the path of the vertical needle 0 the motion of the circular needle being such that it passes above and below the work-plate loop or opening between itself and the thread carried thereby, through which loop the cir-' cular needle 9 passes, said. circular needle then continuing its movement and carrying its own threadto form a loop through which the vertical needle passes as the latter de- Prior to the descent of the vertical needle 0 the lower needle f has retreated from its advanced position shown in Fig. 1, and just prior to the ascent of the said vertical needle the lower needle passes through the loop formed in the thread carried by the vertical needle. The circular needle in the meantime also retreats below the work-plate, ready to pass through the next loop formed by the advancing lower needle. Thus it will seegn that the loop of the verticalneedle thread is engaged by the lower needle below the material being stitched and that the loop of the lower-needle thread is engaged by the circular-needle thread, whose loop in turn passes over the edge of the fabric and is engaged by the vertical-needle thread.

I have designated the different needles as vertical, circular, and lower in order to distinguish between them; but it is not to anism thus described I have provided a form of feed comprising a four-motion foot, as will more fully appear, which, however, forms no part of my present invention.

Mounted in suitable bearings Z0 Z0, secured to the bed-frame A, is a short shaft K, provided with eccentrics k Z0 which through the eccentrics Z0 k on the shaft B and any usual form of eccentric-straps is k and rods k is driven from the said shaft 13. The shafts K and B, at a point beneath the work-plate and subadjacent the opening therein for feedfoot L, are each provided with an eccentric Z and Z, respectively,- which eccentrics are embraced by the slotted ends Z and Z of the feed-block L, carrying the feed-foot Z, secured thereto, as by the screws or pins 1. It will be noted that the slotted ends of the feed-block are elongated and that in one of said slotted ends is fitted a bearing-block Z normally pressed against the eccentric Z by the spring Z Thus while the feed-block is caused to move in consonance with the eccentrics a yielding actionis afforded the feed-block as it moves in the feeding direction, and a setscrew L is provided to regulate the extent of the feeding motion. It will thus be seen that the feed-block atits serrated foot Z has four motions imparted to itviz., a motion from front to rear-"of the machine when the feedfoot is in upper feeding position, a downward movement at the end of its feeding action, a

forward movement when in lower or non-feeding position, and a rising movement from the non-feeding to the feeding positionand that the spring Z and screw L permit adjustment of the feeding action to a greater or less extent, as desired, while the spring permits the feedblock to yield under any undue stress thereon in feeding the fabric. Above and cooperating with the feed-block L and feed-foot Z is the presser-foot m, carried by a presser-arm M, having a slot 'm' near one end, through which passes a pin m secured to the machine-head, the latter being provided with a slot or recess m preferably having a rounded form to permit the said arm M to swing to a limited extent around the pin m as a center. The lower portion of the head is slotted, as at m, to permit the lower end of the arm M free swinging movement. The lower portion of the arm M,

as at m is preferably reduced in diameter and is engaged by the arm 0, carried by an adjustable sleeve 0, secured to the eccentricarm 0, and interposed between the abutment m and the under side of arm 0 is a spring m normally tending to press the presser-foot m downward. Secured to the main driving-shaft A within the arm A is the double eccentric 0 provided with the crank-pin and having the eccentric portions 19 and p, the former, of which is embraced by the upper end of the eccentric-arm O. Said arm 0, near its lower end, is provided witha slot 0 which is engaged bya pin 0 secured to the machine-head. From this construction it will be evident that as the main driving-shaft revolves the eccentric portion 19 of the double eccentric C will impart to the eccentric-arm O a rising-andfalling movement as well as a swinging movement from side to side,and since the eccentricarm 0 is connected to the-presser-arm M in the manner shown and described it will be evident that the said arm and the presser-foot carried thereby will be given like movementviz. arearward movement in the lower or feeding position, an upward movement at the end of the feeding action, a forward movement in the upper or non-feeding position, and a downward movement at the end of the said forward movement. It is also evident that the spring m while yieldinglyholding the presser-foot m upon the fabric, will yet permit it to rise to adjust itself to varying thicknesses of fabric.

In overedge seaming, especially of knitted goods, it is desirable that the edges of the fabric shall first be evenly cut, and to this end I may provide any usual form of cutter, that in the present instance comprising a blade .9, carried by the lower end of a sliding bar S, movable in the machine-head, as shown, the said'bar,

and consequently the knife 8, being given the shearing or rising-and-falling action by the portion 19 of the eccentric G which is embraced by a link S, connected at S to the sliding bar S.

It will be noticed that as the connections for transmitting motion from one shaft to another I have employed eccentrics and straps,which, being adjusted properly, avoid all noise and shocks incidental to usual crank connections, and this same is true also with respect to the feed-block and its operating parts.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an overedge sewing-machine, the combination of a vertical needle and means to reciprocate it, a lower needle and means toreciprocate it below the work-plate of the machine, a circular needle and means to reciprocate it above and below said work-plate over the edge of afabric,each of said needles carrying a thread, and a slack take-up for each of said threads, said slack take-up for the lower and circular needles comprising a fixed eye, a movable arm provided with an eye, and an eccentric for moving said movable arm.

2. In an overedge sewing-machine, the combination of a vertical needle and means to reciprocate it, a lower and a circular needle, needle-bars each carrying one of said needles and pivoted to the frame of the machine, a shaft journaled in said frame and carrying cams, the faces of which are disposed opposite each other, the saidlower and circular needle bars being extended beyond their pivotal connection with the frame to engage said cams to be thereby positively moved as described.

3. In an overedge sewing-machine, thecom bination of a vertical needle and means to reciprocate it, alower and a circular needle, needle-bars each carrying one of said needles and pivoted to the machine-frame, a shaft journaled in the machine-frame and carrying two face-cams, the faces whereof are disposed opposite to each other, and blocks movable in the cam-groove in the face of cams, the said lower and circular needle bars being extended beyond their pivotal connection with the machine-frame to engage said blocks in the face-cams.

4. In an overedge sewing-machine, the combination of a vertical needle and means to reciprocate it, a lower and a circular needle, needle-bars each carrying one of said needles, a shaft journaled in the machine-frame and carrying cams for directly engaging and operating said lower and circular needle bars, one of said needle-bars being pivoted to the frame below said shaft, and the other of said needle-bars being pivoted to=the frame above said shaft, and each of said bars being extended beyond their pivotal connection with site each other, the said needle-bars being extended beyond their pivotal connection with the frame to engage said cams to be thereby positively moved as described, and an independent take-up for the threads carriedby said needles.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES J. APPLETON. Witnesses:

SIDNEY SIEBER, A. HARVEYCUTTER.

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